The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1887-02-02
Notes From Yellow Greek.

wrote you letter to let you kno" HoM
We were all getting along away up here
in the northeast corner of the state.
Since that we have had a sensation. 1t
came in the way Of that fifteen inches
of snow lust before Christmas. Who
ever heard of the like? Fifteen inches
Of snow in this sunny southland OF
oursl A Yankee from Michigan arrived
in Iuka (Which is the county site OF our
county, the evening before the snow.
When he went to bed that night every
thing looked, as he expressed it, very
Southy" But when he got up next
morning and saw the ground covered
with fifteen inches of snow, then every
thing looked "yery Northy." he said
he came down here expecting to smell
roses and eat green peas every day; but
that if this snow storm was sample OF
average Mississippi weather, he would
HE him away off "yander" to Michigan
again. 1t was in vain that the citizens
endeavored to impress on his mind that
such weather was without precedent,
that it sorter slipped up on US. l think
that Yankee felt kind of goneness,
like fellow that has missed three or
four meals. 1t was his first trip out; he
was fresh and tender, and couldn't stand
disappointment; in fact ne was sold. l
guess when he reports. this spell OF
weather will be used as campaign thun-
der in the next election. For they are
in the habit, in the North, of charging
up everything disagreeable in Mlssis-
sippi to the Democrats. But ii some OF
those rabid haters would only come
down here among us and stay awhile,
eat at our tables, sleep in our beds, warm
at our fires, and neighbor with us awhile
generally they would find out that we
are not the barbarians we are repre-
sented to be by Northern Republican
demagogues.
Old Uncle 81 Oberly came very near
freezing up in time of the big snow.
His little mule, (his only team) had a
spell of the blind staggers, and he
couldn't get up supply of wood. He
says now that he knew something was
going to happen by the way the sun
"riz and sot" for three days before the
snow. He only has one room to his
house, and when the snow came, and
the weather got so awful cold, he says
it Just looked like him and the old wo-
man and the children would freeze.
There were so many children that they
all couldn't get around the fire place so
Uncle ST struck on very original plan
to swarm up He took his wife's big
wash kettle, set it in the middle of the
room and piled it half full of wood and
pine knots Then the family surrouded
it and managed to keep from freezing.
In talking to Pa about it afterwards,
Uncle 81 told him, that the smoke was
10 tn ho
strangled them, but that it was splen-
did way to warm up when the family
WAS large and the fuel small. But he
declares now he is going to hunt pastures
new. He says he can stand "Yaller
Crick" chills, and droughts, and floods,
and ticks, and chegres, and bed-bugs,
and water moccasins, and so ONT but
he'll ''be blessed" if he can stand fifteen
inches of snow. He is good citizen
and we are trying to prevail on him to
stay with us, but his head seems "sot"
on going to a more congenial cline. Its
all right, reckon; we haven't got the
running of things to suit US in the
weather. The best way is to be satisfied
with whatever comes. As the poet says,
"If it rains, why rain is my choice" :"
If we had bad weather before Christmas,
the beautiful, balmy springtime weather
on that day made up for it. We people
along Yellow Creek had a good time.
At nearly every house, the turkey COB
bier gobbled his last gobble. The corn
cob was pulled from the mouth of many
jug, and the glug, glug, glug, of the
generous liquid as it gusned forth made
sweet music. This is a prohibition
county and the officers are tolerably,
yes, tolerably, watchful, but somehow or
somehow else the Jug will sometimes
pass the pickets.
The children had fun by the whole
sale. The old folks went up to Iuka the
day before Christmas, and the stuffed
saddle bags, and many packages told
that Santa Claus would be on Yellow
Greek that night, and sure enough he
was. If he missed house / haven't
heard of it. The old folks sat around
the fires talking, and joking, and smok-
ing, and watching the sparks as they
flew up the chimney, and listening to
the merry laughter of children and
grandchildren. More than one gray
haired veteran, as he sat there, wished
himself a child again that he might
hang up his stocking, and awake in the
morning to find it distended with nuts
and candies that good Santa Claus had
brought during the night.
Christmas week we had the usual
number of weddings. That week never
passes without some two body's getting
| hitched. / went to one. | would give
the names of the parties, but the bride
groom Notwithstanding he is over
feet and weighs 100 pounds-blushed
and stammered so during the ceremony
that l am afraid it would plague him to
death if he was to see his name in a
great big newspaper like The CLARION
| The bride was little slender thing
weighing about lis pounds, but she had
black eyes and a snap to them that
showed what she lacked in weight she
could easily make up in will-power and
energy. Then | like the way she an
swered during the ceremony. There
was no squeaking, and chewing the cor
ner of her handkerchief. She stood
erect, as if proud of her position, and
said syes," in a tone that clearly showed
she meant what she said. 1t was s
couple well-matched. The bridegroom
is slow, easy-going, but industrioui
and honest young man; and that littl'
wife he has taken unto himself has jus
enough pepper-sauce in her disposition
to job him with sharp stick occasion
ally and keep him from mapping. Mel
go to sleep sometimes, but please OBJ
serve, they never do with such womel
for wives as the one | have referred to
The best thing for a sleepy man in thi
world is for him to get wife, with
firm chin and black eyes, that spark
like a winter fire. Such woman
sure to be slightly troubled with insom
! MIA, and she will keep the husband fror
over-sleeping himself. The young coupl
. have been writing about will make
all right. The young mans father CAV
him quarter section of good land an
: a horse. The girls parents gave her
COW, cooking utensils and beds and bee
clothing. The parents of this newl
married couple were not rich, SO the
could not give their children ban
? account and brown-stone front. Bu
l they gave them plenty to begin OF
/, They are both young and strong. Th
bride has been taught from childhoo
/ to wash, iron, milk, sew, cook, weav
e etc. The husband has been taught
! plow and hoe, to make corn and cottol
! to raise peas and pumpkins, cows an
Z hogs. They have both been accustome
9 to work, to labor for their bread, to g
a dollar by earning it, by giving valu
received for it in toll, and to only get
in that way. They are not curled da
lings of society. Again / say, they wi
make it all right. From such stoc
from the intermingling of such bloc